Racetrack Wiseguy

 It might be expressly not my time of year but one can't ever quite leave it alone. 

William Hill are a great help in putting up absurd Epic Odds offers. I'm not one to turn down such gifts and so even money Djokovic to win in straight sets today wasn't to be disdained. They won't take more than a tenner on such giveaways but it all helps.

A Monday night Maiden at Musselburgh is alliterative and probably belongs more in a poetry review than it would be expected on any turf account of mine but the fav looked like it was due and I followed up with a mug punter straight forecast on the pop music theory of Robert Johnson and Baez, leaving out Wontgetfooledagen because it was 150/1 and not spelt right. So, it's all good business whether it's a serious selection with solid, scientifically-proven credentials or just harmless entertainment and we make inroads towards the next milestone on our way to 2023's profit.

I was prompted by some recent racecards left lying around to sort them out. I know for sure I've got the card from every meeting I've been to, going back to 1974 and so counting them should be a way of establishing some fascinating statistics. I'm not the most regular face at the track but I've been to more race meetings by now than I've been to football or cricket matches, which are both less than I ever played in.

It's roughly as many pop concerts as I've been to but 'classical' concerts in 2022-23 will be in the same ballpark on their own.

So, the tracks attended, in order of how often, are - Goodwood 21, Fontwell 17, Cheltenham 10, Ascot, Newbury, Salisbury and Wincanton 4, Sandown 2, Bath, Epsom, Plumpton and Stratford 1 each.

I can remember 2 point-to-point meetings and greyhound races at Portsmouth, Gloucester (two different tracks), Romford and Swindon.

Readers can judge for themselves which are the best horses I've seen from-

Flat - Dancing Brave (which is the right answer), Enable, Warning, Reference Point and Nashwan.

NH - Sprinter Scare, Desert Orchid, Altior and Cyrname. You might think Desert Orchid is the answer there but I saw him get beat whereas Sprinter Sacre broke the track record at Newbury as a novice.

The first thing I found among the box of racecards and utterly compelling Racing & Football Outlook Racing Annuals from the 1970's and 80's was a Sporting Life Derby Day magazine from 1987 when we got the train to Tattenham Corner and 2/1 about Reference Point paid for it all. That's my Derby Day story and I put about as much effort into it as Jeffrey Bernard put into his account of the highs and lows of his Derby history to that point, presumably scribbled down in between vodkas in the Coach and Horses. It's remarkable what passed for 'writing' then and, as you can see, not much has changed since.

Fontwell is likely to overhaul Goodwood on my list if it doesn't close before it gets there. Cheltenham is by far the best, followed by Ascot, but it's not nearby and it's better to watch it on telly if it's the racing you're interested in more than the occasion or the scenery.

It's a tremendous thing to have an interest that insists on paying for itself although the success and proliferation of the bookmaking industry suggests that it doesn't for everybody. However, I'm always keen to help. I have a surefire tip for tomorrow that can't possibly lose. Leave it alone. There's nothing doing.